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Cllr Joe Anderson, leader of the Labour group in Liverpool, said: "This report is damning of the climate at the council and it makes Cllr Storey's position untenable. His replacement as leader, Warren Bradley, should sack him immediately. This report talks about the climate of bullying and macho style of management that we continually complained about, but we were ignored.
"Now an independent body confirms that we were right all along. We need to move forward without being continually haunted by the events of the past, and that will not happen until we draw a complete and final line under this. I have never seen such a critical report from the Audit Commission in respect of Liverpool."
But last night Cllr Bradley stood by his predecessor, and said: "Mike Storey is one of the best politicians we have ever seen in our city.
"He was far too experienced, skilled and knowledgeable to be left out in the cold and is passionate about Liverpool.
"If the opposition feel he should be hung, drawn and quartered and then publicly flogged for a few emails then I feel sorry for them. Rather than play low-grade politics and dragging down the name of the city, they should be working towards our growing success.
"I stand by Mike Storey and I am happy to have him on my front bench."
Cllr Storey, a councillor for 33 years, was clearly stunned by the attack, and said the opposition were more interested in character assassination and point-scoring than the good of the city.
The former leader, who bled the Liberal Democrats to victory in 1998, referred himself to the local government Standards Board following the fall-out with Sir David, and later decided to resign as leader of the city.
In recent months, he has kept a relatively low profile but as one of the main architects of the city's renaissance, his apparent withdrawal from frontline politics was seen by many as a major blow.
He was succeeded as leader by Cllr Bradley, who promptly offered Cllr Storey a key role as executive member for special initiatives.
The report states: "Members of all parties and officers report that the appointment of the former leader of the council to the executive board is making the task of rebuilding relationships and trust more difficult."
That was backed up by Cllr Steve Radford, leader of the Liberal Party group in the town hall.
He said: "I was the one who moved a motion at council that Cllr Storey should not be reappointed to the cabinet and I have been proved right.
"For five years running, the Liberal Party group has also called for an independent chair for our own standards board and this report shows it is now time for the council to bring in that independent voice."
Apart from concern about Cllr Storey's position, the lengthy report in the main praised the progress being made in Liverpool.
It states that Cllr Bradley and Sir David's successor, Colin Hilton, were perceived by many councillors and officers to be positive role models in terms of ethical behaviour.
Cllr Bradley is establishing himself in his role, and members as well as officers report growing confidence in him.
Mr Hilton said: "I welcome this report and work is already under way on implementing the recommendations. The Audit Commission recognises that members and officers are passionate about the city and want progress to be made.
"I am pleased that the inspectors recognise that both I and the leader of the council take the issue of ethical behaviour extremely seriously, and believe it is important we learn lessons from the past in order to move the city forward.
"The integrity of the city council is paramount and it is essential that there is trust between officers and members, and that decisions are made in an open and transparent manner."
Cllr Bradley said: "This report makes clear the work we need to carry out to drive up tolerance and understanding between members and officers.
"I am pleased that the report acknowledges that my leadership is already making a difference. Trust and transparency has to be placed right at the heart of the city council and embedded at every level.
"I will do everything in my power to make that happen."
But Cllr Anderson had a very different interpretation of the report, adding: "Warren Bradley is praised in one section, but then there is the criticism about Mike Storey making his comeback at
Bradley's invitation. That must be a contradiction. We said a year ago that the honourable thing for Mike Storey to do is resign and I still feel he should go, except now Warren Bradley should sack him
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Report tells of 'macho' management, lack of trust and bullying - but ends on an optimistic note
WHAT the Audit Commission report said about Liverpool City Council:
* Last year events negatively affected the leadership and governance arrangements within the council and diverted the attention of members and officers from the business of improving the lives of the people of Liverpool.
* The council should take the opportunity to stand back and reassess the nature of the relationships between the leading political groups and between leading members and officers. In particular, short term political advantage and "macho" managerial positioning need to be rejected in favour of taking a longer-term measured approach that puts the council back on track.
* A lack of trust between some members and some officers is an issue which is slowing the development of the council. Trust and confidence among members and officers and between members is lower in Liverpool than nationally (36% as against 59% nationally). Both members and officers recognise that the fault can lie on both sides. It is recognised that not all officers have been as open and honest with members as they should have been. Members of all parties recognise that on occasion they may have misused their trust.
* Several members and officers told us about instances of behaviour perceived and received to be bullying of members and of officers. Confidences are not always kept and members can throw dirt at the opposite parties or at officers to gain short term advantage. Many people are optimistic about the ability of members and officers to change their ways of working, but others speak of the "Liverpool way" of doing things, or long standing poor political and managerial behaviour and of politics being a theatre that should not be taken too seriously.
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